Pinned
Cunctator
@cunctator.bsky.social
· Dec 3
All human wisdom is contained in these words. Wait and Hope.
Reposted by Cunctator
"The next Democratic president has to be ruthless... [they] should run on a plan to prosecute Elon Musk... there has to be accountability... the [next] Democratic president has to put the fear of God into their Republican opponents"
My advice to the Dems.
Full discussion: zeteo.com/p/the-venezu...
My advice to the Dems.
Full discussion: zeteo.com/p/the-venezu...
January 6, 2026 at 5:13 PM
"The next Democratic president has to be ruthless... [they] should run on a plan to prosecute Elon Musk... there has to be accountability... the [next] Democratic president has to put the fear of God into their Republican opponents"
My advice to the Dems.
Full discussion: zeteo.com/p/the-venezu...
My advice to the Dems.
Full discussion: zeteo.com/p/the-venezu...
Reposted by Cunctator
I asked pro-Palestine Hollywood star Javier Bardem about the recent reporting and speculation that pro-Israel Paramount studios boss David Ellison has put him on a 'blacklist'.
Watch his response below.
Full interview: zeteo.com/p/javier-bar...
Watch his response below.
Full interview: zeteo.com/p/javier-bar...
January 6, 2026 at 5:41 PM
I asked pro-Palestine Hollywood star Javier Bardem about the recent reporting and speculation that pro-Israel Paramount studios boss David Ellison has put him on a 'blacklist'.
Watch his response below.
Full interview: zeteo.com/p/javier-bar...
Watch his response below.
Full interview: zeteo.com/p/javier-bar...
Reposted by Cunctator
Esta aceleración de trumpismo demente es una terrible noticia para América, pero quizá buena noticia para Europa. Como os dije hace meses, pasó con el nazismo: la desmesura de Adolf destruyó el creciente apoyo a partidos nazis en USA y UK. Eso puede hacer Trump por nosotros.
La foto es de hoy.
La foto es de hoy.
January 6, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Esta aceleración de trumpismo demente es una terrible noticia para América, pero quizá buena noticia para Europa. Como os dije hace meses, pasó con el nazismo: la desmesura de Adolf destruyó el creciente apoyo a partidos nazis en USA y UK. Eso puede hacer Trump por nosotros.
La foto es de hoy.
La foto es de hoy.
Reposted by Cunctator
Gallego: "The reason why you have Article 1 power is because you don't want to let idiots like President Donald Trump make foreign policy decisions without their being a check and balance against that"
January 6, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Gallego: "The reason why you have Article 1 power is because you don't want to let idiots like President Donald Trump make foreign policy decisions without their being a check and balance against that"
Reposted by Cunctator
Este el dilema al que se enfrenta Occidente.
Y no hay absolutamente nada más. Nadie más.
Y no hay absolutamente nada más. Nadie más.
January 6, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Este el dilema al que se enfrenta Occidente.
Y no hay absolutamente nada más. Nadie más.
Y no hay absolutamente nada más. Nadie más.
Reposted by Cunctator
FIVE YEARS & he has not been held accountable for one of the most disgraceful events in this nation's history.
Trying to overturn a fair election in an attempted coup against his own government is the very definition of TREASON. We can never move forward until this is fully adjudicated. #ShameOnUS🇺🇸
Trying to overturn a fair election in an attempted coup against his own government is the very definition of TREASON. We can never move forward until this is fully adjudicated. #ShameOnUS🇺🇸
January 6, 2026 at 4:37 PM
FIVE YEARS & he has not been held accountable for one of the most disgraceful events in this nation's history.
Trying to overturn a fair election in an attempted coup against his own government is the very definition of TREASON. We can never move forward until this is fully adjudicated. #ShameOnUS🇺🇸
Trying to overturn a fair election in an attempted coup against his own government is the very definition of TREASON. We can never move forward until this is fully adjudicated. #ShameOnUS🇺🇸
Reposted by Cunctator
And that is the role of the man in the glasses. Who may even be Brueghel himself (we don't have a reliable self-portrait to compare it with, so this is just a hunch).
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
And that is the role of the man in the glasses. Who may even be Brueghel himself (we don't have a reliable self-portrait to compare it with, so this is just a hunch).
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Reposted by Cunctator
Which, finally, brings us to the curious onlooker at the top right, wearing glasses. The story of the magi is that they arrive from the East, and bear witness to Christ’s birth. The story of the painting is that we too bear witness, and reflect.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Which, finally, brings us to the curious onlooker at the top right, wearing glasses. The story of the magi is that they arrive from the East, and bear witness to Christ’s birth. The story of the painting is that we too bear witness, and reflect.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Who is this whisperer? I think it’s the angel God sends to Joseph to warn him about Herod’s massacre, and to leave for safety in Egypt. Because it’s not an obvious angel – no wings, no halo – we are meant to be unsure. Bruegel asks if we would recognise such an angel.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Who is this whisperer? I think it’s the angel God sends to Joseph to warn him about Herod’s massacre, and to leave for safety in Egypt. Because it’s not an obvious angel – no wings, no halo – we are meant to be unsure. Bruegel asks if we would recognise such an angel.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Because Bruegel is so good, we can see that Joseph is momentarily distracted. He has not yet formed an opinion on what he’s being told. It is a subtle, mysterious moment in the drama, one not seen in other Adoration paintings.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Because Bruegel is so good, we can see that Joseph is momentarily distracted. He has not yet formed an opinion on what he’s being told. It is a subtle, mysterious moment in the drama, one not seen in other Adoration paintings.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Bruegel has condensed the biblical narrative into this one scene (a common approach in art at the time).
Then we come to what is for me the most powerful part of the painting – the man whispering in Joseph’s ear.
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Then we come to what is for me the most powerful part of the painting – the man whispering in Joseph’s ear.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Bruegel has condensed the biblical narrative into this one scene (a common approach in art at the time).
Then we come to what is for me the most powerful part of the painting – the man whispering in Joseph’s ear.
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Then we come to what is for me the most powerful part of the painting – the man whispering in Joseph’s ear.
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Reposted by Cunctator
In Mathew’s gospel, the Magi visit Herod first, asking ‘where is he that is born King of the Jews?’ Herod sends them to find Christ, and then afterwards, with ‘exceeding wroth’, orders the Massacre of the Innocents.
The soldiers in the painting are Herod’s soldiers.
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The soldiers in the painting are Herod’s soldiers.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
In Mathew’s gospel, the Magi visit Herod first, asking ‘where is he that is born King of the Jews?’ Herod sends them to find Christ, and then afterwards, with ‘exceeding wroth’, orders the Massacre of the Innocents.
The soldiers in the painting are Herod’s soldiers.
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The soldiers in the painting are Herod’s soldiers.
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Reposted by Cunctator
The key here is the soldiers. They shouldn’t be there. We know they’re not the Magi’s soldiers, because they’re not tired out, and they wear more modern dress (the Magi wear slightly archaic dress). And some are ugly, which back then was associated with evil. Who are they?
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
The key here is the soldiers. They shouldn’t be there. We know they’re not the Magi’s soldiers, because they’re not tired out, and they wear more modern dress (the Magi wear slightly archaic dress). And some are ugly, which back then was associated with evil. Who are they?
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Reposted by Cunctator
Then we see how cramped the composition is. It’s an upright format, showing a crowded, unsettling scene. Our eye is first taken from lower left, via Melchior’s pink sleeve, up to Christ, then the Virgin, then Joseph, and the then the whispering man. What’s going on?
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Then we see how cramped the composition is. It’s an upright format, showing a crowded, unsettling scene. Our eye is first taken from lower left, via Melchior’s pink sleeve, up to Christ, then the Virgin, then Joseph, and the then the whispering man. What’s going on?
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Reposted by Cunctator
> this may be a more humanistic representation of an Adoration. No halo and no star - no revelation - means we have to work out for ourselves what is going on, and reflect upon it. Bruegel is asking, if you chanced upon this scene today, would you believe?
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
> this may be a more humanistic representation of an Adoration. No halo and no star - no revelation - means we have to work out for ourselves what is going on, and reflect upon it. Bruegel is asking, if you chanced upon this scene today, would you believe?
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Reposted by Cunctator
Brussels was then on the front lines of the religious conflict in the low countries. And while it’s too soon to see only Catholic vs Protestant by the 1560s, there are differing ideas about religious art. We don’t know for sure what Bruegel’s own faith was, but >
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Brussels was then on the front lines of the religious conflict in the low countries. And while it’s too soon to see only Catholic vs Protestant by the 1560s, there are differing ideas about religious art. We don’t know for sure what Bruegel’s own faith was, but >
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Reposted by Cunctator
Most of the dress is contemporary to the 1560s. This could be a scene in the low countries in the 16thC. It’s not the kind of Adoration scene you normally would see in, say, Italian, Catholic art.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Most of the dress is contemporary to the 1560s. This could be a scene in the low countries in the 16thC. It’s not the kind of Adoration scene you normally would see in, say, Italian, Catholic art.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Now, to Bruegel’s narrative genius and the painting’s mysteries. First, what do we *not* see? No star, no halos, no winged angels. There is no miraculous revelation here. It’s more realistic. The three kings look tired out, sweating after their long journey.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Now, to Bruegel’s narrative genius and the painting’s mysteries. First, what do we *not* see? No star, no halos, no winged angels. There is no miraculous revelation here. It’s more realistic. The three kings look tired out, sweating after their long journey.
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Reposted by Cunctator
The kings are not identified as such in the bible (Mathew Chapter 2). But medieval tradition gave them names and representations of the three known continents (hence Balthasar, from Africa, is usually a black man), and different ages to represent the three ages of man.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
The kings are not identified as such in the bible (Mathew Chapter 2). But medieval tradition gave them names and representations of the three known continents (hence Balthasar, from Africa, is usually a black man), and different ages to represent the three ages of man.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Then we have the three kings, wearing expensive and exotic clothes. From the left, Caspar offers gold, Melchior myrrh, and then Balthasar with his frankincense. Christ recoils from the myrrh, which is used for embalming (a sign of things to come).
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Then we have the three kings, wearing expensive and exotic clothes. From the left, Caspar offers gold, Melchior myrrh, and then Balthasar with his frankincense. Christ recoils from the myrrh, which is used for embalming (a sign of things to come).
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Reposted by Cunctator
To the left are a group of soldiers, heavily armed. Beside them is a shepherd (they had visited Christ first). To the right in the background are two onlookers, one wearing glasses.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
To the left are a group of soldiers, heavily armed. Beside them is a shepherd (they had visited Christ first). To the right in the background are two onlookers, one wearing glasses.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Then, what do we see. We are before a stable, hence the donkey. Christ is in Mary's lap, with Joseph standing proudly behind her. A man whispers in his ear.
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Then, what do we see. We are before a stable, hence the donkey. Christ is in Mary's lap, with Joseph standing proudly behind her. A man whispers in his ear.
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Reposted by Cunctator
Bruegel's Adoration was painted in 1564, likely in Brussels.
First, let’s marvel at his painterly brilliance. See the armoured glove here; a few quick, impressionistic strokes, with most of the light represented by leaving the ground layer visible. So modern!
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First, let’s marvel at his painterly brilliance. See the armoured glove here; a few quick, impressionistic strokes, with most of the light represented by leaving the ground layer visible. So modern!
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January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Bruegel's Adoration was painted in 1564, likely in Brussels.
First, let’s marvel at his painterly brilliance. See the armoured glove here; a few quick, impressionistic strokes, with most of the light represented by leaving the ground layer visible. So modern!
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First, let’s marvel at his painterly brilliance. See the armoured glove here; a few quick, impressionistic strokes, with most of the light represented by leaving the ground layer visible. So modern!
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Reposted by Cunctator
Today is Epiphany, when Western Christianity celebrates the three kings' visit to the infant Christ. Peter Bruegel the Elder's 'Adoration of the Kings' [National Gallery] is one of my favourite imaginings of that moment. It's also full of mystery.
Quick Epiphany 🧵
Quick Epiphany 🧵
January 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Today is Epiphany, when Western Christianity celebrates the three kings' visit to the infant Christ. Peter Bruegel the Elder's 'Adoration of the Kings' [National Gallery] is one of my favourite imaginings of that moment. It's also full of mystery.
Quick Epiphany 🧵
Quick Epiphany 🧵
Reposted by Cunctator
(1) this almost 100% assures "inside job" theory real
(2) the us currently produces 13 million barrels a day, so it's almost entirely possible this is symbolic or trump is too stupid to realize how little this is
(2) the us currently produces 13 million barrels a day, so it's almost entirely possible this is symbolic or trump is too stupid to realize how little this is
January 7, 2026 at 12:13 AM
(1) this almost 100% assures "inside job" theory real
(2) the us currently produces 13 million barrels a day, so it's almost entirely possible this is symbolic or trump is too stupid to realize how little this is
(2) the us currently produces 13 million barrels a day, so it's almost entirely possible this is symbolic or trump is too stupid to realize how little this is